Keller Williams offers all collegiate athletes the opportunity to earn their estate … [+]
Although much of the news surrounding the name, image, and likeness centers on one-off deals with national brands and many zeros, the lasting impact of the NIL will be how it changes a student-athlete’s career beyond the sport. After successfully running a program with student-athletes from Brigham Young University last year, Keller Williams is now working to expand its one-of-a-kind NIL program to all student-athletes through the Opendorse platform.
Keeler Williams, Endorsement W Nothing for real estate Partnership to provide athletes with on-demand access to video tutorials and articles to help student-athletes buy a home, invest in real estate, or pursue a career in real estate.
“This partnership is a great example of how much the NIL can impact collegiate athletes,” said Opendorse CEO Blake. “Careers and investing in real estate have been a popular path for athletes for years. Now, with the help of Keller Williams and NIL Real Estate, athletes can jump into their future with the support of the pros.”
Brigham Young University quietly offered a similar program to its student athletes last year, with more than 120 athletes signing up for the opportunity. The athletes had access to the 120 hours of video-on-demand instruction required to obtain a real estate license in Utah. Then, they were prepared to take the state and national exams required to obtain their license.
Without access to this program, Gary Veron, associate athletic director of Student-Athlete Experience/None at BYU, said it would have cost his student-athletes $650-1,000 to attend a typical real estate education course, plus an additional $250-500 for test prep service. After passing the exam, agents pay a monthly fee to Keeler Williams. However, for BYU student-athletes in the program, educational programming is free as part of the NIL deal and monthly agent fees are absorbed by NIL Real Estate.
The program is designed to help athletes obtain their real estate license to work as a referral agent, an agent who does not work full time in real estate but can refer potential buyers or sellers to their real estate team and receive a commission in return.
Typically, the standard commission for a referral agent is 25% of the commission of the party they represent. For example, on a $500,000 home, the average commission would be $15,000 (3%) for both the buyer and seller’s agent. Referral Agent, if they refer either a buyer or a seller, will receive $3,750 (25% commission). Transactional pieces are taken care of entirely by the estate team and not the referring agent.
“As staunch advocates of the NIL, we here at BYU were excited when Keller Williams approached us during the summer of 2022 with the opportunity of a no-nonsense student-athlete to earn a real estate license at no cost,” Verone said. “We have done our due diligence and concluded that this opportunity was a perfect fit for our Built4Life program, which facilitates learning and development opportunities to support student-athletes in maximizing their potential in the near future and long term.”
With the cost of real estate in Utah, even a referral commission is a lot of money. Thanks to Keller Williams and NIL Real Estate, student-athletes at BYU get a world-class education in real estate, learn to invest wisely, and can make several thousand dollars doing so. What they do really well – use their name, picture and example.”
Of the 120 student-athletes who have signed up for the program, Veron says 36 have completed their courses so far, with 10 having already taken and passed their exams. Five student-athletes referred buyers or sellers to Keeler Williams and earned a referral commission.
A men’s tennis player got his license and then bought a house for himself and his wife. Fearon says the Keller-Williams team liked the story so much that he took 65% commission instead of the usual 35%, which resulted in him getting $6,300 in commission on his home purchase.
Now, athletes across the country will have access to the program with Keller Williams and NIL Real Estate through Opendorse.
“We are incredibly grateful to the opening credibility, and with our team at Keller Williams, for this opportunity to support collegiate athletes by advancing lives outside of sports,” said Carl Spencer, co-founder and CEO of NIL Real Estate. “It is so rewarding for us to provide athletes across the country with access to real estate education and the opportunity to earn their license. There is a real joy in seeing the impact on the lives of athletes and their families who learn more about one of the biggest economic drivers of this state, which is real estate.”
the Opendorse platform It is open to all college student-athletes, regardless of department or school, which means every student-athlete in the country has access to this opportunity.